Ducking behind one of the bigger trees in the area, Ender pressed himself back against the wood and held his breath. He knew he had heard something, or even someone, moving around behind him, but he hadn't actually seen anything.
Not yet, anyway.
After a moment of relative silence, he chanced a quick glance around the side of the tree trunk. Other than the surrounding foliage, there was nothing to see. He frowned. Whatever (or whoever) was following him didn't appear to have any intention of being discovered. Which meant that they knew what they were doing.
Drawing in a deep breath to calm himself, Ender grabbed the bow from his back and prepped an arrow. If he was going to be caught, he was going to fight.
Another sound, this one a little closer, reached his ears, and he tensed once more. His pursuer seemed to be moving faster at this point; Ender could now hear the barely detectable footfalls as whoever it was came closer. Taking another breath, he waited until the sounds were within a few feet of distance behind him. Then, abruptly he sprang from his hiding place, taking aim and firing in the space of a single second. At almost the exact same time, he heard another sound. An instant later, a red-fletched arrow was buried in his shoulder, and he stumbled back.
What...?
Ender looked up, expecting to see his enemy dead on the ground in front of him. Instead, he saw his friend, leaning against another tree with an arrow in his chest. Cabe looked back at him, the color draining from his face. "...Ender?" He said in a surprised voice. Ender dropped his bow, his own expression full of shock and dismay. Cabe tried to straighten himself to the point where he could walk, but instead fell back, collapsing against the ground with a heavy thud.
The sound of impact snapped Ender out of it, and he ran to his friend's side. "Cabe! What the... but I... I didn't mean to...!" He stammered. Cabe let out a rough, rasping cough. "Me neither." He managed. "Sorry."
What do I do?! Ender asked himself frantically as he watched the blood spreading across his friend's chest. It's all my fault! I shot my friend!
"Ender..."
He looked back at his friend anxiously. Cabe's dilated eyes looked back at him. "It was just... an accident." He said quietly. "Please..."
"...don't blame yourself."
YOU ARE READING
Whumptober+ Short Stories - Volume 1
Historia CortaA collection of one-shot whump prompts. All characters belong to me, and I may or may not use them for books in future :) Warning for minor-to-major violence, depending on the prompt.
